Month: September 2013

Tim Shavers has stepped down from the Alcor board of directors, citing a major move, a second baby, and other major life changes. Tim was elected to the Board of Directors on April 25, 2009. We will miss the considerable time and energy he devoted to his role, and the steady, calm professionalism that he brought to it.

Not long ago, Alcor president Max More proposed that those who had been Alcor members for 20 years or longer should receive a 30% discount on their membership dues. This is a reward for their loyalty and a strong sign than members will not face ever-escalating dues.

Adding to this, at the September 7, 2013 board meeting, Max proposed that members of 25 years standing should receive a 40% discount, and members of 30 years standing should receive a 50% discount. The board unanimously approved the motion. Here is the motion that was passed:

Starting January 1, 2014, the discount on membership dues given to members of 25 years standing will increase from 30% to 40%, and the discount on membership dues given to members of 30 years standing will increase from 30% to 50%.

You’ll have to excuse the newspaper-style headline. The popular story is that Alcor dues just keep going up. (That’s not surprising, since the price of almost everything goes up due to inflation. A dollar today is worth less than a dollar of any previous year. That has been true for many decades.)

However, Alcor members paying the regular rate of dues (that is, not receiving discounts as family members, students, or long-term members) will — from January 1, 2014 — receive a 5% discount. This proposal by Alcor president Max More was supported by the Alcor board at the September 7 board meeting.

5% is not a large amount in absolute terms. But: It is the first time that dues have gone DOWN. Other initiatives presented at the meeting (to be covered in detail in Cryonics magazine) may enable further reductions. We will continue to do our best to reduce the cost of cryonics. Remembers — you will receive a credit on your dues if you get someone else to join and credit you for doing so.

Here is the wording of the motion that passed:

Starting January 1, 2014, dues for members paying the full rate of $620 will be reduced by 5% (rounded down to $30). If funds are received specifically for the purpose of reducing dues (such as through the proposed Membership Dues Reduction Fund), the 5% reduction will be folded into the new reductions rather than added on to them. That is, if the Membership Dues Reduction Fund reduces the top rate by 30%, the reduction will be 30% and not 5% + 30%.